Oversight Tour Exposes Neglect at Mkpat Enin Legislative Block as AKHA Warns Councils on Accountability
The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs has warned that financial autonomy for councils must translate into improved infrastructure and accountability, after an oversight visit revealed severe neglect at the Mkpat Enin Legislative Council complex. The Committee, led by Chairman Rt. Hon. Mfon Idung, began its tour of the state’s 31 local government councils on Monday with an inspection of the Mkpat Enin legislative block, the seat of the council’s lawmaking arm. What the lawmakers met was a facility in disrepair: weather-stained walls, a deteriorating roof, overgrown surroundings, and an overall lack of maintenance. The condition, the Committee said, fell far short of expectations for a council now receiving its statutory allocations directly. “The state of this legislative block is inconsistent with the status of a local government that enjoys financial autonomy,” Rt. Hon. Idung stated. “Institutions of democracy must refl...